Comments on: What to expect from the new national gaijin cards http://www.mutantfrog.com/2009/02/17/what-to-expect-from-the-new-national-gaijin-cards/ Photos, Stories and articles on East Asia Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:05:05 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Roy Berman http://www.mutantfrog.com/2009/02/17/what-to-expect-from-the-new-national-gaijin-cards/comment-page-1/#comment-334422 Roy Berman Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:29:56 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/?p=3038#comment-334422 Even Debito admitted that SOME of the changes in the proposed new immigration law are improvements. As it stands now, a lot of the new requirements are still too vague to know whether they'll actually be improvements or ... deprovements? It's totally appropriate to speculate on possibly implementations that will make things worse, but it's definitely premature to get hysterical before there are actually any substantial hints about what the new registration system will be. Even Debito admitted that SOME of the changes in the proposed new immigration law are improvements. As it stands now, a lot of the new requirements are still too vague to know whether they’ll actually be improvements or … deprovements? It’s totally appropriate to speculate on possibly implementations that will make things worse, but it’s definitely premature to get hysterical before there are actually any substantial hints about what the new registration system will be.

]]> By: Ken Y-N http://www.mutantfrog.com/2009/02/17/what-to-expect-from-the-new-national-gaijin-cards/comment-page-1/#comment-334395 Ken Y-N Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:48:04 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/?p=3038#comment-334395 Nice article Joe, and I like your idea of installing your IC-Card-reading terminals at city hall for easy update, and the city can also capture your details at the same time. There's a lot of scare stories about RFID - the passport ones are readable from a distance by design, but the standard ones in credit cards are not. Well, in theory they are, as long as they are reasonably-well isolated and other conditions that don't really apply in real life, and with a wallet-full of RFID (I have about six in mine) I don't think you can get a clear signal for a remote read. The professional gaijin victims will get lots and lots of mileage out of this, so thanks for the level-headed approach here. Nice article Joe, and I like your idea of installing your IC-Card-reading terminals at city hall for easy update, and the city can also capture your details at the same time.

There’s a lot of scare stories about RFID - the passport ones are readable from a distance by design, but the standard ones in credit cards are not. Well, in theory they are, as long as they are reasonably-well isolated and other conditions that don’t really apply in real life, and with a wallet-full of RFID (I have about six in mine) I don’t think you can get a clear signal for a remote read.

The professional gaijin victims will get lots and lots of mileage out of this, so thanks for the level-headed approach here.

]]> By: Aceface http://www.mutantfrog.com/2009/02/17/what-to-expect-from-the-new-national-gaijin-cards/comment-page-1/#comment-334067 Aceface Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:26:27 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/?p=3038#comment-334067 Better idea.Why not implant chips deep inside of your nostril or somewhere at Narita immigration?That would make everyone more convenient.... I also want make the device would automatically explodes once you decide to write a book dissing Japan and move onto Thailand for good.....Kidding. Bad joke aside,I have a feeling we are moving more and more to the road of issuing national ID card,something Japanese have been avoiding for years. Considering we are getting more foreign residents,and more people living on welfare for various reasons,and more spending time at medical center due to the arrival of the aging society,the demand for the ID card will rise as the years go by. Better idea.Why not implant chips deep inside of your nostril or somewhere at Narita immigration?That would make everyone more convenient….

I also want make the device would automatically explodes once you decide to write a book dissing Japan and move onto Thailand for good…..Kidding.

Bad joke aside,I have a feeling we are moving more and more to the road of issuing national ID card,something Japanese have been avoiding for years.
Considering we are getting more foreign residents,and more people living on welfare for various reasons,and more spending time at medical center due to the arrival of the aging society,the demand for the ID card will rise as the years go by.

]]> By: Joe Jones http://www.mutantfrog.com/2009/02/17/what-to-expect-from-the-new-national-gaijin-cards/comment-page-1/#comment-334019 Joe Jones Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:21:55 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/?p=3038#comment-334019 I think the system actually has the potential to be more convenient. For one thing, the Justice Ministry is responsible for checking your passport when you enter Japan. So at least in theory, they could get you into their own system the moment you arrive in Japan on a new visa. This saves you the first trip to city hall. As far as updates go, there are many possibilities: 1) A lot of small immigration offices scattered around the country. Not as many as there are city halls, granted, but still a pretty decent number. 2) Replace the current alien registration desks at each city hall with a terminal networked into the MOJ database. It would basically be just like the situation today. 3) Run alien registration through the Legal Affairs Bureau in each major city. Less convenient than city halls but more convenient than immigration offices themselves, and already MOJ property. Am I being optimistic? Maybe. We'll have to see how the details develop. I think the system actually has the potential to be more convenient.

For one thing, the Justice Ministry is responsible for checking your passport when you enter Japan. So at least in theory, they could get you into their own system the moment you arrive in Japan on a new visa. This saves you the first trip to city hall.

As far as updates go, there are many possibilities:

1) A lot of small immigration offices scattered around the country. Not as many as there are city halls, granted, but still a pretty decent number.

2) Replace the current alien registration desks at each city hall with a terminal networked into the MOJ database. It would basically be just like the situation today.

3) Run alien registration through the Legal Affairs Bureau in each major city. Less convenient than city halls but more convenient than immigration offices themselves, and already MOJ property.

Am I being optimistic? Maybe. We’ll have to see how the details develop.

]]> By: tony http://www.mutantfrog.com/2009/02/17/what-to-expect-from-the-new-national-gaijin-cards/comment-page-1/#comment-333764 tony Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:57:59 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/?p=3038#comment-333764 Informative and refreshingly non-paranoid post. Thanks! Informative and refreshingly non-paranoid post. Thanks!

]]> By: Roy Berman http://www.mutantfrog.com/2009/02/17/what-to-expect-from-the-new-national-gaijin-cards/comment-page-1/#comment-333749 Roy Berman Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:38:56 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/?p=3038#comment-333749 "Ordinary period of stay on work/study permits will be extended from three to five years, meaning a bit less effort and expense to stay current on registration." When I was working in the office at Ritsumeikan in 2007 and helped a foreign professor fill out his visa extension, they gave him a new form that had a space for a 5 year visa (which didn't exist at the time), but which was voided and replaced with 3 years when they actually filled in the form. So where will foreigners go to change their registered address then? Immigration offices are a LOT scarcer than city halls/ward offices. "It seems that some personal information will be taken off the face of the card and put on an IC chip inside the card. Some paranoid folks hate the idea of the Gaijin Chip, but I am actually in favor of it if it keeps this information private to a casual observer." Depends on the type of chip they use. If it's an old fashioned smart card which requires direct electrical connections, then it's pretty secure. However, if it's an RFID chip it will be possible to read it from inside your wallet a couple of meters away. Time to buy one of those wallets with the RF-blocking metal strips in them? “Ordinary period of stay on work/study permits will be extended from three to five years, meaning a bit less effort and expense to stay current on registration.”
When I was working in the office at Ritsumeikan in 2007 and helped a foreign professor fill out his visa extension, they gave him a new form that had a space for a 5 year visa (which didn’t exist at the time), but which was voided and replaced with 3 years when they actually filled in the form.

So where will foreigners go to change their registered address then? Immigration offices are a LOT scarcer than city halls/ward offices.

“It seems that some personal information will be taken off the face of the card and put on an IC chip inside the card. Some paranoid folks hate the idea of the Gaijin Chip, but I am actually in favor of it if it keeps this information private to a casual observer.”
Depends on the type of chip they use. If it’s an old fashioned smart card which requires direct electrical connections, then it’s pretty secure. However, if it’s an RFID chip it will be possible to read it from inside your wallet a couple of meters away. Time to buy one of those wallets with the RF-blocking metal strips in them?

]]> By: Joe Jones http://www.mutantfrog.com/2009/02/17/what-to-expect-from-the-new-national-gaijin-cards/comment-page-1/#comment-333725 Joe Jones Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:05:31 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/?p=3038#comment-333725 Good point, Aceface. <a href="http://www.mutantfrog.com/2007/01/24/address-cardboard-box-7-nishinari-park/" rel="nofollow">This is a problem which Japanese people have too</a>--it is really a drawback of all of Japan's registration systems. Good point, Aceface. This is a problem which Japanese people have too—it is really a drawback of all of Japan’s registration systems.

]]> By: Aceface http://www.mutantfrog.com/2009/02/17/what-to-expect-from-the-new-national-gaijin-cards/comment-page-1/#comment-333723 Aceface Wed, 18 Feb 2009 02:54:58 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/?p=3038#comment-333723 Like I keep posting,here in Aichi we have nearly one out of two working population of resident Brazilians losing their jobs.And when they lose jobs,they will also lose their residence since most were owned by their company. Those who don't have enough money share their flats with others and move to another on weekly basis,which make alien registration system by local government meaningless. Like I keep posting,here in Aichi we have nearly one out of two working population of resident Brazilians losing their jobs.And when they lose jobs,they will also lose their residence since most were owned by their company.
Those who don’t have enough money share their flats with others and move to another on weekly basis,which make alien registration system by local government meaningless.

]]> By: Adamu http://www.mutantfrog.com/2009/02/17/what-to-expect-from-the-new-national-gaijin-cards/comment-page-1/#comment-333707 Adamu Wed, 18 Feb 2009 02:12:05 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/?p=3038#comment-333707 Great post! You should open your own immigration consultancy. Great post! You should open your own immigration consultancy.

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